Corn or cotton planter.



No. 636,677. 4 Y Patented Nov. 7, 1699.

.1. w. LINAM 6. 'T. .LWHITWORTH.

CORN on COTTON PLANTER.

(Application filed Jan. 10, 1899.)

(No Mudel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

W L imm lgazgions J f I 13;; flzeir 61 11166 636, 1 In/12am No. 636,677;Patented Nov. 7, I399. J. W. LINAM &. T. J. WHITWORTH.

CORN OR COTTON PLANTER.

I (Application filed Jan. 10, 1899.)

(No 2 SheetsSheet 2,

1-1; wnms FETERS co. mow JTHT- WASHINGTON, u c

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN W. LINAM AND THOMAS J. WHITWORTI'I, OF LANEPORT, TEXAS.

CORN OR COTTO N PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 636,677, dated November'7, 1899.

Application filed January 10, 1899. Serial No. 701,744- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN W. LINAM and THOMAS lwnrrwon'rmcitizens of theUnited States, residing at Laneport, in the county of Williamson andState of Texas, have invented a new and useful Corn or Cotton Planter,of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in corn and cotton planters; andthe object that we have in view is to provide a planter mechanism whichmay be used in connection with an ordinary sulky cultivator or plow toenable the operator to ride on the machine when planting the grain,whereby the machine is especially adapted for service in the southernsection of this country, where the soil is of a heavy, black, andsticky. nature that renders it exceedingly inconvenient and laboriousfor the attendant to walk in the furrow.

A further object of the invention is to so mount the planting mechanismon the sulky plow or cultivator as to secure vertical adj ustment of theplanter with the elevation or lowering of the cultivator-beams by theordinary appliances of the machine, and also to arrange the plantingmechanism so that it may swing horizontally a limited distance bypressure of the operators foot for the purpose of keeping the planter inproper relation to the furrow should the team swerve to one side or theother in driving across the field.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved furrowopening means which is not liable to be broken when it comes inengagement with an obstruction and which will serve to open a deepfurrow for the deposit of the seed in order to prevent scatteringthereof and to plant the seed so deeply in the ground as to insure itsgermination and to protect the seed from droughts and from foreignvegetable growths.

With these ends in view the invention c011- sists in the novelcombination of elements and in the construction and arrangement ofparts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the inven tion,we have illustrated thepreferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevationillustrating our improved planter mechanism applied to an ordinary sulkyplow or cultivator. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalelevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section through themachine on the plane of the ground-wheel and indicated by the dottedline 3 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional plan view on aplane above the planter mechanism and indicated by the dotted line 4 4of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 isanother vertical cross-section' through the machine,taken on the plane of the covering-shovels and indicated by dotted lines5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the frame whichsupports the carrier for the furrow-opener or shovel. Fig. 7, is a likeView of the carrier for the furrowopeners.

Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in eachof the several figures of the drawings.

The arch 10 of an ordinary cultivator is provided with spindles for thereception of the carrying-wheels 11, and to this arched part of themachine, which constitutes the axle, are connected the draft-tongue 12and the supporting-frame 13 for the drivers seat.. The cultivator-beams14 are similar to ordinary devices in the art, and they are connectedwith the adj usting-levers 15 by the links 16. As is usual, the beams 14carry the rear stocks 17; but in adapting our planter mechanism to asulky plow or cultivator we remove the ordinary front and middle stocksfrom the cultivator-beams, to the end that the planter mechanism may beused in connection with the ordinary cultivator. As the novelty in thepresent invention resides in the planter mechanism and the partsassociated therewith, we do not consider it necessary to more fullydescribe the ordinary sulkylow. p In carrying our invention intopractice we employ aplanter-frame which carries the hopper and issupported partly by a groundwheel that furnishes the motive power bywhich the planter mechanism is operated. This planter-frame is shown asconsisting of parallel metallic bars 18, which are united firmlytogether at their front endsby'means of an arch 19, having its endssecured by bolts to the bars of the planter-frame in order to maintainthem in parallelism, and this arch is arranged to span the ground-wheelin order to permit the latter to rotate freely without hindrance fromthe arch. The front ends of the bars forming the planter-frame arecurved or extended downwardly in advance of the arch for the purpose ofsupporting the journal-bearings'20, that accommodate the axle 21 of theground-wheel 22, and to this axle is secured the sprocket-pinion 23,that drives the endless sprocket-chain 24, which propels thesprocket-wheel 25 of the operating elements of the planter. Theseoperating elements maybe of anypreferred construction known to thoseskilled in the art, and one element of the planter mechanism is a shaft26, that is driven by the sprocket-gear 25 and which is mounted on thehopper 27, that is carried by the planter-frame 18. As is usual in theart, the hopper has a dischargeopening for the seed or grain, and adelivery spout or tube 28 is supported on the planter to have its upperend receive the grain or seed from the opening in the hopper 27.

To the cultivatorbeams 14 are firmly clamped the Vertical spindles 29,which lie in rear of the delivery spout or tube 28 and are arranged onopposite sides thereof, and these spindles carry the covering-shovels30, which are inclined reversely to each other for the purpose ofthrowing the soil inwardly upon the seed deposited in the furrow. Eachspindle is provided at a point intermediate of its length with anangular bend 31, which constitutes a crank, and the upper straight partof each spindle is attached to one of the cultivator-beams by aclamping-bolt 32, which permits the spindle to be adjusted axially onthe beam for the purpose of adjusting the cranked lower end of thespindle and the co vering-shovels 3O thereon toward or from the plane ofthe seed-delivery tube or spout 28. It is evident that the crankedspindles may be adjusted independently of each other and at variablepositions with relation to the plane of the tube or spout 28 to throwmore or less soil upon the furrow.

For the purpose of supporting the f urrowopeners we employ asupporting-frame 33, which is represented more clearly by Fig. 6 of thedrawings. This frame 33 is provided at its rear end with theoppositely-divergin g arms 34, and the outer ends of these arms haveclips 35, which are fitted loosely on the upper ends of the spindles 29,the latter being extended above the cultivator-beams 14 for thereception of the supporting-frame To the front end of this frame 33 areconnected the diverging braces 36, which have clips 36 at their rearends, that are fitted loosely to the spindles 29 between the clamps 32and the cranks 31 of the spindles, and these braces are connectedloosely with the diverging arms 34 of the shovel-frame by means of thestirrups 37. The seed-delivery spout or tube 28 is confined in properrelation to the frame 33 by means of the clamp 38, and the rear end ofthe planter-frame 18 is loosely connected with the arms 34 of theshovel-frame 33 by the connecting-links 38. This shovel-frame 33 is,furthermore, provided at its front end with a downwardly and forwardlyinclined hanger 39, which supports the arched shovelcarrier 40. Thisshovel-carrier is a single piece of metal fashioned to provide theconnected front and rear arms 41 42, and said arched carrier 40 ispivotally supported at 43 in the hanger 39 of the shovel-frame Theshovel-carrier 40 is constructed with a notch 44 above its pivotalconnection 43 to the hanger 39, and in this notch of the pivoted carrieris fitted a brake-pin 45, which serves to connect the braces to thehanger 39 and to retain the pivoted shovel-carrier in its properposition on the frame 33. The front arm 41 of the shovel-carrier has afurrow-opener or sweep 46 secured firmly thereto by a bolt 47,-

and this bolt may be removed for the purpose of taking off the openerand replacing it by a shovel of the desired size in order to open thefurrow a proper width to receive the seed orgrain from the hopper of theplanter mechanism. The rear arm 42 of the shovel-carrier has a narrowshovel 48 attached thereto by a bolt 49, and this rear shovel is inalinement with the opener 46 and is arranged or adjusted to travel inthe path of the furrow opened by said shovel 46. The rear shovel 48serves to deepen the furrow opened by the front shovel 46 and enablesthe seed or grain from the tube or spout 28 to be deposited quite deeplyin the soil.

To maintain the cultivator-beams 14 in parallel relation one to theother, we provide a coupling 50, which is attached to the beams 14 andlies in rear of the coupling-arch 19, which unites the side bars thatconstitute the planter-frame 18, and the arch 19 of the planter-frame isconnected by a chain or link connection 51 with the arch 50 of thecultivator-beams, whereby this chain or link connection 51 serves tostay the front end of the planter-frame and as a guide to theplanterframe in the lateral or horizontal adjustment thereof.

By raising the cultivator-levers the entire planter mechanism may belowered with the cultivator-beams to bring the planter into conditionfor service and to regulate the penetration of the shovels thereof aswell as the depth of planting of the seed; but by depressing thecultivatorlevers the beams and planter mechanism may be raised out ofservice. Our improved planter mechanism enables the operation ofplanting the field to be performed economically by saving the labor ofone attendantand one of the draft-horses. In plowing the soil it iscustomary to use two horses to draw the implement for the purpose ofopening the furrows for planting the seed and to follow up thisoperation by a onehorse planter in order to deposit the seed at theproper depth in the moist earth. A machine of the character hereindescribed dispenses with the operation of first plowing the ground andsubsequently depositing the seed therein, because these operations maybe effected simultaneously and the driver can ride on the machine, thusovercoming the necessity for walking in the heavy soil. It is evidentthat different sizes of furrow-openers can be attached to theshovel-carrier to suit the conditions of the soil and the nature of thework. The planter mechanism of our in vention is suspended on thecultivator-beams in a manner to maintain the various parts of theplanter mechanism in parallel relation, and the beams of the cultivatorare also held parallel to each other while the planter mechanism issuspended between the cultivatorbeams for the purpose of being adjusteda limited distance in the horizontal plane by the foot of the operator,so as to compensate for any swerving or deflection of the team, whichwould tend to throw the planter off the center of the ridge or row. Bysuspending the planter mechanism so that it has parallel movement ateach end it may easily be guided to the right or left by slight pressureof the operators foot, and hence if the team is driven out of line theplanter mechanism may readily be adjusted to keep it in its properposition.

Changes may be made in the form and proportion of some of the parts,while their essen% tial features are retained and the spirit of theinvention embodied. Hence we do not desire to be limited to the preciseform of all the parts as shown, reserving the right to Vary therefrom.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is- 1. Thecombination with cultivator-beams, of a planter-frame loosely connectedwith said beams and free to swing laterally at its forward end, and aground-wheel supported at the front end of said planter-frame andadapted to move laterally therewith, substantially as described.

2. The combination with cultivator-beams, of a coupling-arch united tosaid beams, a planter-frame connected at its rear end with the beams andsupported at its front end by a ground-wheel, and a flexible connectionbetween the planter-frame and the couplingarch permitting the forwardend of the planter-frame to swing laterally, substantially as described.

3. The combination with cultivator-beams, of spindles connected to saidbeams and carrying the covering-shovels, and a wheeled planter-frameloosely connected with said spindles and free to swing laterally at itsforward end, substantially as described.

4. The combination with cultivator-beams, of axially adjustable crankedspindles clamped to said cultivator beams, shovels carried by saidspindles and a wheeled planterframe loosely connected with and supportedupon the spindles, for the purpose described, substantially as setforth.

5. The combination with cultivator-beams, and shovel spindles adjustably supported thereon, of a shovel-carrying frame connected to andadjustable relatively upon said spindles, and a wheeled planter-frameconnected to the shovel-frame and flexibly connected tothe'cultivator-frame, substantially as described.

6. The combination with cultivator-beams, of a shovel-frame, independentaxially-adj ustable spindles connecting the shovel-frame to thecultivator-beams, shovels on said spindles, a furrow-opener shovelcarried by the shovel-frame, and a planter-frame connected to theshovel-frame at one end with its other end free to swing laterally andhavingasupporting-wheel, substantially as described,

7. The combination with cultivator-beams, of a coupling arch fast withsaid beams, shovel spindles clamped to said beams, a planter-framehaving loose connections at one end with the. shovel-spindles andprovided at its opposite end with a carrying-wheel, an arch united tothe members of the planterframe and having a linked connection with thecoupling-arch of said beams, and means for adjusting the beamsvertically, substantially as described.

8. The combination with beams and a planter mechanism, of cranked oroffset spindles carrying the covering-shovels,and clamps which unite thespindles fast to the beams and permit the spindles to be adjustedaxially to vary laterally the position of the shovels relatively to theplane of the planter mechanism, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a planter mechanism'having a seed tube or spout,of a pivoted double-armed carrier, an opener-shovel attached to one armof the carrier, another furrow-shovel carried by the other arm of saidcarrier in rear of the opener-shovel, and a breakable. pin engaging withthe pivoted carrier whereby both shovels may swing out of the way wheneither meets an obstruction, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoaffixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. LINAM. THOMAS J. WHITWORTH.

Witnesses as to Linam-z O. B. CHALLMUER,

TRAVIS SHAW. Witnesses as to Whitworth:

G. L. STANFORD,

G. T. WILSON.

